What Does peevish Mean
The Latin word displĭcens , derived from displicēre , came to Castilian as complacent . This is how one or that which is haughty, haughty, apathetic or indifferent is qualified .
For example: "I will not tolerate the complacent attitude of anyone in this team" , "When he was rebuked by the woman, the singer limited himself to outlining a complacent smile" , "The president, in a dismissive tone , assured the businessmen who knows exactly what he is doing ” .
The concept of complacency is often used in the field of sports to refer to the player who does not obey the instructions of his coach and who, therefore, does not respect the strategies or tactics of the team. A complacent athlete, on the other hand, does not try his best or show commitment.
Let us suppose that a footballer always tries to solve his plays with some luxurious action , which allows him to stand out on an individual level although it is not effective or useful for the team. In addition, he does not usually get involved in tasks that do not shine but are necessary for the whole. For all these reasons, the footballer in question is described as "complacent" by journalists.
It is called indifference , on the other hand, indifference or apathy in dealing . In this way, the complacent treatment is cold and apathetic, showing disinterest in the other and even reflecting, in some cases, a lack of respect : “The desperate woman approached the governor to ask for his collaboration and the president treated her in a complacent, telling him that he helped all the neighbors through his political decisions .
Returning to the etymology of the word displeasant , we can say that its Latin relative displicens, displicentis is the present participle of the verb displicere , which can be translated as "displease, dislike, not approve of something or be far from any consent or pleasure." In the structure of this verb we can notice the presence of the prefix dis- , used to denote the separation by multiple ways, and the verb placere , which is defined as "to please, to please".
As is often the case with other words in Latin and, by extension, in our language, when a verb and a prefix or suffix are joined, part of its structure can change; In the particular case of displicere , it is clear that the A for placere was changed to an I (this phenomenon can be described technically by saying that, in its stem vowel, the verb suffers an apophony).
The Latin verb placere we have received other words, among which are pleasant, placebo, placid, peaceful, lawsuit (which originally meant "that which causes satisfaction ") and agree . When combined with the suffix dis- , therefore, the meaning of this verb and its corresponding adjective changed completely, to come to designate the person who shows contempt and dislike for something, or who is disdainful.
One of the most effective ways to fully understand the meaning of an unusual word in everyday speech is to look at its synonyms, among which there is usually at least one that we do use with some frequency. The word complacent can be replaced in many cases by the following: listless , impolite, unpleasant, unpleasant, surly, dry, unpleasant and indolent . With regard to antonyms, we have accommodating, pleasant, friendly and kind .
In short, we can say that no one would like to be described as complacent, at least in a relationship where they seek harmony, since it is an adjective that speaks of an attitude that is frowned upon by others. On the contrary, its antonyms are some of the most desired adjectives: it always draws us a smile that is considered "nice", "kind" or "pleasant".